It's the little things

Thursday night is typically my late night at the gym.  I go with a friend from work.  Typically, 3 days a week, there are 5 of us that go.  Thursday night, it's usually just me and Nellie.  We do 3 classes - weight lifting (also known as Power), core and belly dance.

Yeah, no comments on me doing belly dance.  At least until I lose about 50 more lbs, but it's a HECK of a workout.  I wake up at night after belly dance with my hip flexors screaming at me and have to sleep on my stomach the rest of the night to stretch them out.

Anyway.

I always ask the kids to do little things around the house....keep the dining room table cleaned off (it's a catch-all spot), sweep/swiffer the floors, clean kitchen, load/unload dishwasher, etc.  And I always tell them just because you are 21 and 19 doesnt' mean you don't have to do chores anymore....you still live here.

Rarely do I ask them to cook.  But this week, I bit the bullet and asked the boy....

My son has been talking about this chicken salad that his room mate at college makes since he got home.  I asked him on Tuesday if I went and got the stuff on Thursday if he could go ahead and make it.  He said he would....the recipe that his room mate sent him was very vague because Kevin doesn't measure anything when he makes it - he does it all to taste.  So, after my dr appointment (the dr office is about 2 miles from my house) I run to Food Lion and get the following:

1 Rotisserie chicken (used whole thing)
1 bottle of Texas Pete (used 1/4 bottle)
1 bottle of coarse ground Grey Poupon (used 1/2 jar)
1 bottle of Worchestershire (maybe 1/8 bottle?)
Celery (2 stalks)
Black Grapes (1/2 c grapes)
Sliced Cashews (dunno because he crushed them...I added some to the top)
I had the light mayo at home (dunno, because jar was already open)

This was the final product:

It was really, really good!  Mikey wasn't real happy with it because he said it didn't have as much bite to it as Kevin's did, but I told him we could tweak it next time. 

I love no-cook dinners - and there wasn't any cooking done to make this, just assembly.

And it was nice to not have to buy dinner on a night when I had to stay late at the gym......with all 4 of us home once again, it gets rather pricey.

The only downside to this whole thing?  I had to clean up the kitchen.  While I have the common sense to clean as I go when I am cooking dinner, this doesn't register with my college Physics major.  **Sigh**

The little things.......

Oh!

Then I rambled on and on to my hubby about this overnight oatmeal that I was going to make.  I'd been waiting all week til I got to the store to get the stuff to make it, and now I have it and I made it and it's the best.oatmeal.ever.

Well, at least to me.....

1/3c Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats
1/3c unsweetened almond milk
1/3c plain Greek yogurt
1 banana
1tbsp Peanut Butter and Company Mighty Maple Peanut Butter
1tbsp tiny dark chocolate morsels

Comes out to 10 Weight Watchers P+ or about 447 calories.

I haven't  been real thrilled with my overnight oatmeals this week, but this one was a huge hit.  I will definitely be making this one again...and again....and again...

I fought CookOut .... and WON!

Yesterday I had a REALLY bad craving for CookOut.  If you have ever been to one, you know what I am talking about.  They have over 30 kinds of shakes....the BEST burgers and awesome seasoned fries.  And it always smells WONDERFUL when we drive by.

Working in the flavor industry, I always compare smells to the products we work with.....CookOut always smells like charsol to me...which is a grilled flavoring they use in Burger King (anyone who tellls you they don't artificially flavor their meat is on crack....), vegetarian meat substitute, and a few other things.  I love the smell.  Yes, it does smell kinda sorta like a grill.  But not really. 

I had to take Megan to GTCC for her visit with one of the school counselors yesterday, and we passed CookOut.  At the time, my stomach was eating itself, because it was well past my 4pm snack time (about an hour before I typically go to the gym), and well, being a bit stressed about Megan's school and what I needed to catch up on at work, and on and on, I REALLY wanted CookOut.

But then, I weighed the pros and cons.....

Did I really want to splurge like that, when I had been doing so well??  I mean, on Saturday, Outback screwed up my carry out order by giving me the Alice Springs Chicken Sandwich (chicken, sauce, cheese, bacon) instead of the plain grilled chicken sandwich and steamed brocoli that I ordered, and by golly I pulled off the cheese and bacon before I ate it!

Did I want just a shake and fries that I would have to count as my dinner because of all the calories, when I could go home and have 2 eggs, 5 slices of turkey bacon, one sausage link and 2 slices of toast???  Come on now....what's more food/better calories??

So, instead, I drove right by CookOut and brought Meg back to her car at my work and ate my celery sticks and my granola thin.

And I never felt so empowered as I did last night :)

Meeting days are LONG...

Yes, yes they are. 

I have been in meetings since 9am. I have one more to go at 4:15, then I will be here until about 6pm, then off to the gym for my weight lifting class and belly dance class!

Oh how I love lifting weights!!

Is it hard...sometimes. 

Is it worth it??  Y.E.S.

I have been lifting for about 6 months now.  You want to lose body fat?  Lift weights.  You want to gain strength and endurance?  Lift weights. 

And the belly dance class right after is the perfect stretch after lifting.  Trust me, it's a workout in itself!

After a day like today, I need it too.  I am severely stressed....no, I'm not eating a pound of chocolate.  I did eat about 3oz of nuts, but I'm not real worried about it.  I also ate my celery and mango chutney.  Was I hungry?  No, but I stuck to what I brought and didn't buy any of the candy bars that are sitting on the counter for sale either.  I'm not going to get to my cottage cheese this afternoon. 

My favorite recipe of the moment that I got from the Runs for Cookies blog - Check her out!!  This is a variation of her Tortellini and Sausage Soup.  I made tiny meatballs with the sausage.  7 Weight Watchers Points plus per 2 cups.  Very Very filling.

Then for dinner yesterday, I made bacon wrapped chicken breast, shrimp and sauteed spinach, squash, zuchini, garlic and mushrooms



I work in regulatory affairs at a food flavoring company.  Know all those additives in foods you can't pronounce?  I work with those every day.  If you have eaten anything....you've had one of our products.  We are in evertything from doughnuts to soft drinks to fish bait...yes, fish bait.

I love my job and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  It just gets very very hectic at times.

More later....